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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. SEAFERT. DYNAMO ELECTRIC MACHINE.

No; 414,659. 2 Patented Nov. 5, 1889.

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(No Model.) I 4 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. S'EAPERT. DYNAMO ELECTRIC MACHINE. FNo. 414,659. Patented Nov. 5, 1889.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

W. SEAPERT.

DYNAMO ELECTRIC MACHINE.

No. 414,659. Patented Nov. 5, 1889.'

N4 PETERS, Phnlo-Lithographw, Wuh'mgtan. IJv C.

A a e h S q h t 8 e h s 4 T R E F A E S W m d o M 0 W DYNAMO ELECTRICMACHINE-i Patented Nov. 5, 1889.

IIIIII/Ill N. PETERS. Phob-Lilhugnphlr. Washingion. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM SEAFERT, OF- CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO FRANKM. STAPLES, TRUSTEE, OF SAME PLACE.

DYNAMO-ELECTRIC MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 414,659, dated November5, 1889. Application filed September 10, 1888. Serial No. 285,083. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom. it many 0071 0077; In the drawings, A represents a suitableBe it known that I, IVILLIAM SEAFERT, a base, upon which are mounted themagnets 15. citizen of the United States, residing at Chi- C andrepresent the pole-pieces, the

cage, in the county of Cook and State of Illiformer being in the presentinstance formed nois, have invented a certain new and useful in onepiece with the-base, and the latter be- Improvement in Dynamo-ElectricMachines, ing mounted on top of the magnets]; and 0011- which is fullyset forth in the following spccinected thereto by suitable pins 7). Inthis fieation, reference being had to the accompaconstruction theposition of the pole-pieces is nying drawings, in which such that one isabove and the Other below [0 Figure 1 is a plan view of an apparatus thearmature,whichisinclosed between them. embodyingmyinvention, the upperpole-piece 1) represents the armature-shaft, provided being removed;Fig. 2,a sectional view of the with a suitable d riving-pullcy d, andmounted same taken on theline 1 1 of Fig. 1; Fig. :3, a in suitablebearings l). sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Erepresents thearmature,which is mounted 15 Fig. a detail sectional viewshowing the on the shaft, l),so as to rotate along with said mechanismby means of which the armatnreis shaft, but at the same time be free tomove moved; Fig. 5, a similar view taken from the longitudinally thereonin case the said shaft opposite side; Fig. 6, a plan view of a modifiedhas no endwise motion, as in the construct-ion form of apparatus, theupper pole-piecc reshown. This resultmaybe effected by means 20 moved;Fig. 7, a sectional view taken on the of a spline d on the shaft,whichenters a corline 3 3 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8, a view similar to Fig.responding groove 6 in the hub of the arma- 7, showing anothermodification; Fig. 9, a secture. The armature-shaft I) may be, of tionalview similar to Fig. 2, and iliustratinga course, capable oflongitudinal motion, it domodification of the construction thereinsired, in which case the armature will be 25 shown; and Fig. 10, adetail sectional view fixed thereon. taken on the line at at of Fig.9,the field-mag- The armature E may be of any suitable nets andpole-pieces being omitted. construction so far as its structuralelements Like letters refer to like parts in all the figare concerned,my present invention relating ures of the drawings. solely to theexternal configuration thereof.

0 My invention relates to dynamo-electric As to this latter feature, thearmature may be machines, and has for its object to produce described asbeing of a varying diameter from an apparatus of this descriptioncapable of end to end, the diameter decreasing gradually use eitheras agenerator or as a motor,wherein from one end to the other thereof. Theform the elcctro-motive force may be regulated which I prefer is thatwhich is shown in the 3 5 with great nicety and Without thedisadvandrawings, in which the armature has the form tages attendantupon the ordinary methods of the frustum of a cone, or in the case of anemployed for this purpose. armature of a radial structure the form willTo this end my invention consists in cerbe such that the armature willdescribe in its tain novel features, which I will now proceed revolutionthe frustum of a cone. The diminu- 0 to describe, and will thenparticularly point tion of the diameter of the armature may be out inthe claims. a step-by-step diminution, but this is obvi- I will firstdescribe a construction embodyously an equivalent of the frusto conicaling my invention as applied to a dynamo-elecshape shown, since thelatter may be considtric machine of any well-known type,wherein ered ascomposed of an infinite number of in- 45 an armature is caused torevolve between the finitely small steps. The pole-pieces O and 5pole-pieces of suitable electro-magnets, pre- C are shaped to conform tothe shape of the mising that my invention is in no way llilh armature orto the body generated by the ited to that particular type of machine,but revolution thereofin other words, their suris equally applicable toother well known faces may be said to be parallel to the sur- 50 forms.I face of the armature-and they inclose and define a space or field offorce which liminishes in diameter from end to end,and which in theconstruction shown has a frusto-conical form proportionate in itsdimensions to that of the armature.

F represents the commutator, which in the present instance is shown asmounted rigidly on the shaft D and connected to the armature by flexiblewires f, so that the armature may be moved relatively to the commutatorwithout afiecting the connection between the two. The brushes F are ofany suitable construction, and are shown in the present instance assupported by a fixed yoke f, mounted on one of the bearings D. Theseconnections may be effected in various other mannersas, for instance, byelongating the commutator ani causing it to move with the armature-sucha construction being shownin Figs. 9 and 10 of the drawings, in whichthe elongated commutator is shown as connected to the hub of thearmature.

It will be seen from the preceding description that the armature is freeto move in the direction of its axis of rotation. Various means may beemployed, either automatic or under the control of the operator, foreffecting this movement. In the present instance I have shown anautomatic mechanism controlled by the current for effecting this result.

G represents a lever pivoted on a suitable support g and provided aboutmidway of its length with a yoke G, which embraces a groove 6 in the hubof the armature E. A screw g is attached to the free end of the lever Gand passes through suitable guide-bearings g on a support G mounted onthe base A.

H represents a friction-wheel threaded internally to correspond with thescrew g, and mounted on said screw between the bearings 9 so that therotation of said friction-wheel in one direction or the other will movethe screw g one way or the other.

I represents a yoke-lever mounted loosely on the shaft D as a fulcrum,and provided at one end with an armature 2', below which is located anelectro-magnet I, arranged in the main or in a shunt circuit.

I represents a spring arranged to thrust the lever I normally upward andmove the armature 1' thereof away from the electromagnet I. This springis preferably a coiled spring mounted on a supporting-rod i, which rodis threaded at its lower end to receive a nut i by means of which thepressure of the spring 1 may be adjusted.

J represents a gear-wheel secured on the armature-shaft D, between thearms of the lever I.

J and J 2 represent gear-wheels mounted in the yoke j of the lever Landmeshing with each other, while one of themin the present instance, thegear-wheel J meshes with the gear-wheel J, so that the said gear-wheelsJ and J 2 revolve in opposite directions. The gear-wheel J is providedwith a friction-wheel j, and the gear-wheel J 2 is provided with asimilar friction-wheel 7' said friction-wheels being so arranged that asthelever I is moved upon its fulcrum either one of said frictionwheelsmaybe brought into contact with the friction-wheel II to rotate thesame. The connectious may be as shown in Fig. l, a wire 7.: leading fromone of the brushes to the fieldmagnets, and a wire it" leading fromthese latter to the outer circuit. A return-wire 7.? leads to theeleetro-magnets I, and a wire 7.x leads from said magnet to the otherbrush, thus completing the circuit.

The apparatus 'thus organized operates in the following manner: Let itbe supposed that the armature is rotating and furnishing the normaloutput, which is sufficient for the purposes required. lVhen thiscondition of atfairs obtains, the current. passing through theelectro-magnet I causes said electro-magnet to just balance, by itsattraction of the armature i, the force of the spring I The lever I istherefore held in such a position that neither of the friction-wheels 7"or j is in contact with the friction-wheel II. \Vhen from anyreasonsueh, for instance, as the increase in the number of elements inthe circuit-a larger output of electrical energy is called for, therewill be a corresponding decrease in the strength of the current passingthrough the eleetro-n'lagnet I. This decrease will permit the spring Ito vibrate the lever I upon its fulcrum, and thereby bring thefriction-wheel j into contact with the friction-wheel II. A rotarymovement will thus be imparted to the said wheel II, which will effect amovementof the screw g to the right in Fig. 1, which movement will betransferred through the medium of the lever G to the ar mature E, andthe armature will also be moved to the right. Owing to the conformationof the armature and of the pole-pieces of the field -magnets,hereinbefore described, this movement of the armature will bring itsperipheral surface nearer to the surface of the pole-pieces, and thearmature will thus be caused to cut a greater number of lines of force,thereby increasing the output. \Vhcn the armature has been movedsufiiciently close to the pole-pieces of the field-magnets to bring thecurrent up to its normal strength, the eleetro-magnetl will againovercome the pressure of the spring 1 and the lever I will resume itsnormal position,thus arresting the longitudinal movement of thearmature. Jonversely, when the strength of the current is too great, theeleetro-magnet I will draw the armature i farther down against theaction of the spring I and will bring thelower fr'ction-wheel j intocontact with the frietion-wheel H. This latter will then be retated inthe opposite direction to that previ ously described, and, through themedium of the connecting mechanism, will move the armature along itsshaft in the opposite direction, or to the left. It will be seen at oncethat this motion of the armature will increase the distance between itsperipheral surface and the surface of the pole-pieces of thefieldmagnets, whereby the armature will cut a less number of lines offorce, and the strength of the current will be correspondingly reduceduntil 'it reaches the normal strength, when the electro-magnet andspring will again balance each other. and the armature will remainstationary, so far as longitudinal motion is concerned. It will thus beseen that with the construction which I have devised the armature may bemade to cut a greater or a less number of lines of force in themag neticfield in a given time without necessarily changing the number of itsrevolutions, or, in other words, its speed, and this result may beaccomplished either at the will of the.

operator or automatically. In the case of a motor the armature may becaused to be acted upon by a greater or less number of lines of force,and the power of the field-magnets may be increased or decreased,asisnecessary. In either case the apparatus will be caused to yield justthe amount of mechanical or electrical energy it may be called upon tofurnish, thus establishing a mutual and dependent relation between thegenerator and motor, or between the generator and any other element orelements in the external circuit employed in converting elec tricalenergy into light, heat, or mechanical motion. Thus two or more motorsor other elements may be operated in series, and the motor or elementmost distant from the source of energy may be operated to consume themost energy,irrespective of the energy consumed by any one or more ofthe intervening elements, and irrespective of the position of suchelement in the series. Thus each motor or other element will make adistinct call upon thegenerator for the exact amount of energy it needs,and the sum total of the output of the generator will be the sum totalof the combined calls plus the necessary resistance of the conductor,forming the path of the current.

In the method usually employed in regu lating the current artificialresistance of some kind is inserted in the circuit, and the useless workdone in forcin g the current through this resistance is of course lost.By reason of the construction which I have devised this disadvantage isentirely obviated and the entire output may be used for useful Work.

It is obvious that my invention is not limited in its application to adynamo-electric machine employed for the production of electric energy,but is equally applicable to electric motors. It is also obvious that itis equally applicable both to direct and alternating current machines.Moreover, although I have described the armature as being movablerelatively to the field-magnets-a construction which I prefer, owing tothe obvious mechanical advantages which it presents-it will be seen atonce that by a mere reversal the field-magnets may be moved relativelyto the armature. Such a construction I have shown in Figs. 6 and '7, inwhich the armature E is fixed upon the shaft D, while the field--magnets B, with their pole-pieces O and C, are mounted upon suitableways L, upon which they may move in a direction parallel to the axis ofrotation of the armature. This movement may be effected in any suitablemanner, and in the present instance I have shown mechanism by which thismotion may be accomplished by hand at the will of the operator,although, of course, some such antomatic means as that previouslydescribed may be applied thereto. In this construction M represents athreaded shaft mounted in suitable bearings upon the base A and passingthrough a fixed nut m, attached to the pole-piece C. At its outer endthe screw-shaft M is provided with a bevel-gearm, with which meshes acorrespond ingbevelgearn, mounted on avertical shaftNgvhich is providedat its upper end with a handwheelN, by means of which it may be rotated.It will be at once seen thatthc movement thus imparted to theelectro-n'iagnets and their pole-pieces is just as effective inincreasing or decreasing the lateral distance between the armature andpole-pieces as is the movement of the armature itself. It may beadvisable to move both the armature and the i'nagnets, and my inventionalso contemplates such an apparatus. Such a construction'I have shown inFig. S of the drawings, the construction bein substantially the same asthat shown in Figs. (3 and '7 and just described, with the exceptionthat the armature-shaft I) is capable of longitudinal motion in 'itsbearings, and there is connected thereto an arm 0, provided with a base0, mounted on the ways L. The shaft M passes through the base 0, whichis suitably threaded to receive it, and the thread on this portion ofthe shaft is the reverse of the thread which passes through the nut m.The arm is so connected to the shaft D as to permit this latter torotate freely therein, but. to cause it to move longitudinally alongwith said arm, the connection shown in the present instance being bymeans of a screw 0 passing downward through the arm and entering acircular groove 0 formed in the shaft. In this construction the yoke f,which sup ports the brushes F, is attached to the arm 0, so as to moretherewith, while the commutator is connected to the shaft and arma-Various modifications in the details of the IIO construction shown anddescribed will readily suggest themselves, and I therefcre do not wishto be understood as limiting myself strictly to the precise detailshereinbefore described, and shown in the drawings.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a dynamo-electric machine, the combination, with an armature ofdiminishing diameter from end to end, of a field-magnet or field-magnetshaving pole-pieces of corresponding shape, one of said elements beingmovable with respect to the other in the direction of the axis ofrotation of the armature, whereby the lateral distance between thesurfaces of the armature and pole-pieces may be varied, substantially asand for the purposes specified.

2. In a dynamo-electric machine, the combination, with the armature ofdiminishing diameter from end to end, of a field-magnet or field-magnetsprovided with correspondingly-shaped pole-pieces, one of said elementsbein free to move relatively to the other in the direction of the axisof rotation of the armature, and means controlled by the current forautomatically effecting said movement, substantially as and for thepurposes specified.

3. In a dynamo-electric machine, the combination, with the stationaryfield-magnet 0r field-magnets provided with pole-pieces inclosing amagnetic field of diminishing diameter from end to end, of a revolvingarmature diminishing in diameter from end to end, said armature beingfree to move longitudinally or in the direction of its axis of rotation,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

at. In a dynamo-electric machine, the combination, with thefrusto-conical armature,

of the field-magnets provided with correspondingly-shaped pole-piecesinclosing the same, one of these elements being movable relatively tothe other in the direction of the axis of rotation of the armature,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

5. In a dynamo-electric machine, the combination, with the field-magnetsand their pole-pieces, of the armature-shaft, the commutator fixed onsaid shaft, and the armature splined on its shaft free to movelongitudinally thereon and flexibly connected to the commutator,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

6. In a dynamo-electric machine, the combination, with the rotatingarmature diminishing in diameter from end to end, of the field-magnetshaving correspondingly-shaped polepieces inclosing said armature, saidarmature being free to move in the direction of its axis of rotation,and means controlled by the current to move said armature into or out ofthe field of force upon a decrease or increase of, the current strength,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

'7. In a dynamo-electric machine, the combination, with thefrusto-conical revolving armature and the field-magnets havingcorrespondingly-shaped pole-pieces, of a lever connected to the hub ofthe armature, a screw connected to said lever, a friction-wheel mountedon said screw to impart longitudinal motion to it in either direction, asecond lever provided at one end with two friction-wheels rotatingcontinuously in opposite directions, and a spring and electro-magnetarranged in the circuit to control said lever and cause either of saidfriction-wheels to engage with the friction-wheel on the screw upon acorresponding variation in the current strength, substantially as andfor the purposes specified.

8. In a dynamo-electric machine, the combination, with the field-magnetsand the armature movable in the direction of its axis of rotation, ofthe lever G, screw g, and friction-wheel II for operating said screw,the lever I, provided with the continuously-rotatin gear-Wheels J and Jhaving friction-wheels j and 7' the gear-wheel J, mounted on thearmature-shaft to actuate said gear-wheels J and J the armature t', theelectro-magnet 1, arranged in the main or a shunt circuit, and thespring 1 provided with means for adjusting its pressure, substantiallyas and for the purposes specified.

CARRIE FEIGEL, IRVINE MILLER.

